


Paradox of the Heart

by terrawrites



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, One-Sided Attraction, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 14:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16874307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terrawrites/pseuds/terrawrites
Summary: A friend requested “Back then, I lied when I told you I didn’t love you. You needed to move on from me– I needed to protect you from me.” with Bart Allen





	Paradox of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Additional info made in the request: Diana’s little sister or Starfire’s little sister. But not back then in the future. He loves her even though she’s older
> 
>  
> 
> Reader is Diana's little sister since Amazon's don't age as long as their on the island so it's the only option that made since with the amount of years.

           You were still learning the ropes when he came along. However, he immediately captured your interest. It wasn’t his speed or his looks, not that either of them were  _unimpressive_ per se. What captured your attention was his personality, his demeanor. You may have been new to this world outside your home of Themyscira, but you weren’t naïve to other people’s emotions. You knew when someone was putting up a false front to hide something, and Bart was doing just that. When you looked hard enough, past his outgoing and energetic exterior, you could see the signs of wear and tear that a life of hardship would leave behind. Maybe Bart was able to fool everyone else, but he couldn’t fool you, and the weight of his past called out to you. You were an Amazon, the younger sister of Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman. It was your duty to help those in need now that you had followed in her footsteps, and that duty did not stop at civilians, it extended to your fellow teammates as well.

           So gathering your courage, you approached him. Over time, you two grow to be friends, then closer still. You wouldn’t call it love, but you did care for him deeply. You wanted to help him through the horrors of his time, to heal from the wounds it left on his mind. You didn’t ask for any details regarding your own future or that of the team, you believed him when he said that it could prove disastrous to know too much about one’s future, and now pointless considering his future was likely changed. You had suspicions that he knew more than what he was letting on about you, as sometimes he seemed to know things that you swore you had never even told him before. But you let it go, not wanting to confront him about anything that didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, or inadvertently dig something up that he wasn’t ready to talk about.

           Even though you didn’t feel anything but platonic love for the man beside you, you were unaware of the feelings he was harboring for you. You remained unaware of the war going on inside of him, how seeing your face in this time so free from the pressures and grim realities you had experienced in his time hurt to see but also still took his breath away from your beauty. Being so close to you again, Bart started to blur the line between the you that he knew from his time, and the you in front of him now. He thought that you would return his feelings for sure if only he could grow close to you again, which he had. Now he was finally free to be with you, he didn’t have his mission to pull him away and he wasn’t afraid of hurting you like he was then.

           “Can I talk with you for a moment?” He asked one day. You nodded, and he took you to a secluded spot in the Watchtower.

           “Is there something wrong?”

           “No. Nothing like that but… there’s just something that I need to tell you, that I need to get off my chest. It’s important.”

           “Of course, whenever you’re ready. You know I’m here for you.

           He let out a small laugh. “I know, thank you. Okay I think I should just go for it, before I change my mind.” He looked at you, and you nodded for him to continue. He took a steadying breath before he opened his mouth.  **“Back then, I lied when I told you I didn’t love you. You needed to move on from me– I needed to protect you from me.”**

           “I’m not quite sure I follow.”

           “Well it’s not really ‘back then’ in this time, more like in the future. We knew each other in my time. You had gone back to the island for however long when things got bad. Eventually you started coming back to try and help as many people as you could, me being one of them. We grew close, and I guess at some point we fell in love. But I pushed you away when you confessed how you felt. My life had left its own mark on me, and I didn’t want to end up hurting you because of it.” His face had turned red, and he adverted his gaze to look down at his feet.

           “Bart…”

           “Please, just say that you’ll be with me. You wanted to then, it shouldn’t be any different now. You’re still you. And I’m better because of you.”

           “I can’t, I’m sorry.” You shook your head, your heart becoming heavy.

           “What? Why?”

           “The version of me that you knew, the version that you love, doesn’t exist. She probably never will. The Amazon you knew was marred by countless battles and decades of experience that I don’t have now in this time. That version of me may have loved you as more than a friend, but this me, the one right in front of you, doesn’t. I do care for you Bart, but not romantically. I’m not the person you fell in love with.”

           “I see, I’m sorry then for putting you into this situation. I… I think I need some time alone.” He sped off before you could say anything, and you felt your heart clench. You knew that this hurt him, but you let him go. He needed to sort out the events of then and now himself, you just hoped that he could find peace and happiness one day with someone who could love him in the way he needed.


End file.
